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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Diastasis Recti is the separation of the right and left halves of the rectus abdominus muscles commonly caused by pregnancy, and is noticed most often after giving birth. It is seen most commonly in women who have had multiple pregnancies. When you are pregnant and as the baby grows, your abdomen separates to make room for the growing baby. However, sometimes, things do not always go back to the norm. When you are pregnant, it is important to avoid hardcore abdominal exercises (yes, some women actually still try to work their abs while pregnant, I do not) because it will only put more pressure on your abdomen which is already preparing to grow.

Do a self test: To test yourself for Diastasis Recti, start out by laying flat on your back. Place your fingers above your bellybutton, downward. Raise upward slightly as if you are beginning to do a crunch, enough so that your head is off the floor. Press your fingers in between the halves of your rectus abdominus. If you can fit more than two fingers into the middle of the abdominal section, it is likely that you may have Diastasis Recti. Also, you may or may not see a bulge protruding.

What can you do: Wearing a splint or girdle has been proven to help bring the two halves of your abdomen back together. Strength training exercises have also been proven to help treat DR. In the likelyhood that nothing seems to work, there IS a surgical option, but this should be your last resort. In most cases, DR just takes TIME to heal itself.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Stretch Marks: Starting to notice a few on my hips. No linea negra or stretch marks on my belly

Belly Button: In.

Wedding Rings On/Off: On.

Movement: All the time! His movements have gotten so strong that we often see him stick his hand, foot, knee, and elbows out! He kicked me in the rib this morning which was not too fun but hey its party of it!

Feeling: Feeling great!

Cravings: No cravings, but I am snacking regularly on healthy snacks because I am getting hungrier.

Symptom: MY BLADDER IS SQUISHED! Still! When I run, I have to push through the sensation till it goes way haha.

Sleep: Ehhh here and there. I dont nap though. Have not napped once this pregnancy, cant stand naps!

Exercise: To celebrate the 3rd trimester, I have started doing two-a-day workouts! Cardio with strength training and then a little extra cardio from running at the track using the awesome iPhone app Mapmyrun!

The other day, I went to Target to buy some goodies for my unborn son and I walked away with a few awesome things that I would like to share!

First of all, this bra is simply amazing. After buying the maternity/nursing Stella version of this bra, I decided I wanted the maternity/nursing sleeping bra by this brand as well! It is the most comfy bra I have found. I love the Basics by Bravado bra line! They are also affordable.

I saw this onesie sleeper sack and fell in LOVE. I like the idea of it because some babies hate to be swaddled, but this gives the same idea. It easily zips down if you need to change them or is something quick to throw on if you want to run to the store. It is also 0-9months! Very cool and affordable by Carters of course

Greyson needed a new crib sheet and since I have chosen the grey and white chevron theme, I decided to get just that. Along with the sheets, I bought this adorable chevron mustache pacifier clip.

I recently got in touch with Lucie over at Bump2mum Fitness regarding her best tips for making exercise a part of your prenatal-and normal-routine!
Lucie is a fit mommy herself to two daughters and is a fitness instructor and personal trainer. She continued to exercise and eat healthy during both pregnancies, and even ran her first marathon 8 months after giving birth! Very inspiring to me!
She is also Fittamamma.com's fitness expert, one of my favorite newest pregnancy blogs.

Here are Lucie's tips to how you can get active and motivated to make fitness and health a part of your pregnancy life!

Try my ten tips to REALLY making exercise part of your
life:

1.Walk, walk and walk some more! And I don’t mean
shuffling along. Good long strides at a brisk pace to really get your blood
flowing. Walk as often and as briskly as possible.

2.Little and often. It
doesn’t matter if you don’t have a lot of free time. If you have a spare 10
minutes do some exercise (cardio or weights). If you try and make this part of
your lifestyle whenever you get the chance it will add up over the course of a
week. Aim for around 3 hours a week.

3.Do some resistance training. This means
buy some cheap hand weights or a resistance band and use this equipment in your
workout. This will help really sculpt your bod and more muscle means a faster
metabolism.

4.Have fun! Stick on some music and jump around your bedroom or
dance around your baby. Find a workout DVD you really like and try to think of
your exercise in a positive way. You’ll feel so proud of yourself afterwards!

5.Make it easy for yourself. Have your workout gear and equipment all to hand,
not tucked away in the back of a cupboard. That way you really can get active
when you only have a little bit of time.

6.Work your abs every day –it will
only take a few minutes. Do 50 ab pull ins a day (squeeze in your tummy tight,
hold for a couple of seconds then release; you can do them anywhere!) and try
and do 50 sit ups every day when you get up. Look at a twist board – I swore by
100 twists on mine a day to get my flat tum back as a new mum.

7.Work your
pelvic floors every day. You are a new mum. I don’t need to explain why! Try 50
squeezes every day. You can do these anywhere.

8.Mix it up. If you don’t you’ll
get bored. Try different DVDs, books and equipment at home. Get out and about
and get some fresh air. If you are lucky enough to have some free time try the
gym, swimming, jogging and classes and see what you like the most. This also
means your body is always being challenged.

9.Make active choices every day. Walk (have I told you to
walk?!), take the stairs, leave the car at home, do some gardening, housework
or play games with your kids. You’ll burn loads of calories without even
noticing!

10.Keep it up. This is the most important thing! It’s no
good being active one week and not the next. Exercise and healthy choices need
to be part of your life forever. This will help you look and feel great for
yourself and your family.

For the perfect new mum exercise plan, check out the
3-Plan: Your complete pregnancy and postnatal exercise plan, available on amazon
or the ibookstore, or my website at www.bump2mumfitness.com!

Monday, October 28, 2013

I am so excited to announce that a wedding I shot back in April has been featured on The Pink Bride!

Im happy because it certainly was not expected as I dont really do much photography these days with my fitness and health promotion, juggling a full time job, and doing maternity stuff to get ready for my little man. However, I do plan to start again once my son is born :)

Goooood morning! I have a very special guest on my blog today: My own husband Grady! When we met, he was a little heavier than he wished to be for various reasons and stresses that life throws at us. With his willpower (and my cooking! ha!) he has lost almost 30lbs through clean eating alone. I could not be more proud of this man! He has shared his story below, along with before and after progress photos-though he isnt done yet with his transformation.

Enjoy!

"My journey began a few years ago. I enlisted in the Air Force in the Summer of 2009. I had always been the skinny kid, eating all I wanted and not having to think twice. I was about 6ft and 195 lbs upon entering the Air Force, and I came out of Basic Training at 168 lbs due to the high impact of exercises and little time to eat during those 9 weeks. I was left cut and toned, and I was happy with it.

However, over the years, I have battled injuries and surgery as well as severe depression from a divorce 2 years ago. Today, I feel so much better and have found a woman who treats me better than I ever thought was possible.

I had my shoulder repaired in April due to a loose tendon. I was cleared from doing any type of exercise for almost 6 months, besides physical therapy which primarily focused on my hurt shoulder. Physical therapy was painful and lasted for months on end. However, with the combination of healthy eating and exercise, and my wonderful wife, my weight went from 233 lbs to 205 lbs. I have also continued to grow 6'3.

I also have a food allergy to dairy that limits what foods I am able to intake which can be tricky. But it has actually been a good start to help me get back in shape. With Dairy foods it usually is high calorie/high fat content. I usually eat what my wife prepares, I know she takes care of herself and know she will take care of me as well. I work in nutrition and have a degree in nutrition as well now. I have the best wife to motivate and help keep me in check and even though we work many days opposite we encourage one another to succeed and stay in shape for ourselves and each other!

I love fruits and vegetables, as well as protein! My biggest thing to overcome was soda. It is rather amazing the amount of calories that you can save when you cut out soda!

Thanks everyone for your support for me and my family. I will post more progress photos now that I am officially cleared to work out! I am currently in the middle of my weightloss journey and where I want to be, and I plan on building muscle and getting cut in the future. I have finally been cleared of my profile and can now do any type of exercise that I want, since mu shoulder is fully healed. I plan on continuing my clean eating along with lifting weights.

Best of luck everyone!

Grady"

Stay tuned as he continues with his weightloss journey, as he has been given the green light to finally start working out again!

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PLEASE NOTE: Following and/or participating in my blog, daily workouts, meal plans, and any tips or advice is solely your decision. I recommend checking with your physician prior to following any of the workouts or meal plans that I share. I am very open in sharing that I am not a health care professional, personal trainer, nutritionist, or counselor. I provide the workouts, meals, and tips that have worked for me based on my personal experiences.

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